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National Development Plan

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 April 2021

Wednesday, 21 April 2021

Questions (57, 103)

Ruairí Ó Murchú

Question:

57. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the date by which he plans to publish the results of the review to renew the National Development Plan 2018-2027. [20539/21]

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Emer Higgins

Question:

103. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if common themes were identified in the consultation process which has formed part of phase 1 of the review to renew examination of the national development plan; when the updated national development plan will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20405/21]

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Oral answers (7 contributions)

I want to ask the Minister the date by which he plans to publish the results of the national development plan. We accept we are in changed times. I assume the answer will contain some information on the necessary supports that we are delivering, combined with the outworkings of a stimulus programme that we will require after that.

I propose to take Questions No. 57 and 103 together.

I thank the Deputy for his question. The review of the national development plan provides an opportunity to reassess capital investment plans, particularly in light of the new programme for Government and the ongoing impact of and recovery from Covid. There has been significant progress in delivering a range of infrastructure projects throughout the country, since the launch of Project Ireland 2040. However, as committed to in the programme for Government, my Department has brought forward the review of the national development plan.

The first phase commenced in October 2020, which included the public consultation, review to renew, as well as further evidence gathering by way of sectoral submissions for Departments and a series of technical papers. The results of phase 1 were published on my Department's website on 4 April last.

The technical and consultative work carried out as part of phase 1 will underpin the decisions to be taken as part of phase 2 of the national development plan. The objective of phase 2 will be to set out revised sectoral capital allocations for the upcoming ten-year period, including non-Exchequer investment, as well as providing a renewed focus on the delivery of efficient and cost-effective public infrastructure. The range of indicated sectoral priorities will be identified as part of the final national development plan which, it is anticipated, will be published in summer 2021.

As the questions refer to the review to renew public consultation process, I will touch on that. I can confirm we had 572 submissions, and we can provide a detailed breakdown of those to the Deputy. There was, by any measure, a very strong level of public engagement. From inception, the consultation process was a fundamental part of the process to develop and deliver the revised national development plan and a range of events, platforms and strategies were used to engender dialogue and encourage feedback.

I will throw a question to the Minister on the connection between the national development plan, the national planning framework, the RESS and local development plans. We all know the difficulties certain county councils are currently experiencing. They are also awaiting additional information on rural housing and so on. They believe they are in a situation whereby they cannot necessarily deal with this.

Does the Minister have a view on whether we should hold off on carrying out some of that work until we are in are in a better position post pandemic when people can meet and examine the results of the national development plan?

If we have time, I ask the Minister to deal with the national development plan and cross-Border planning, and any interaction he has had with the Minister, Mr. Conor Murphy MLA, on that.

As the Deputy knows, the national development plan relates to the public capital programme. We have a record envelope of €10.8 billion this year and are keen to proceed with and set out an ambitious capital development plan for our country out to 2030 to make sure it is properly aligned with the priorities in the programme for Government of housing, transport, health and, of course, climate action. The national development plan is, in essence, a sister document to the national planning framework and both make up the overall Project Ireland 2040 overarching strategy for our country.

I dealt with the new PEACE PLUS programme earlier which, as the Deputy knows, is being developed by the special EU programmes body, a North-South implementation body. It will have a €1 billion fund over the next number of years for a range of cross-Border initiatives. I am in dialogue with the Minister, Mr. Conor Murphy MLA, of the Northern Executive to try to get the maximum benefit for Northern Ireland and south of the Border.

I appreciate the Minister's response. We are operating a national development plan from the point of view of changed times, wants and needs, along with the issues we have consistently had in respect of housing. We are talking about dealing with climate change. There are retrofit schemes which are not necessarily fit for purpose at this point in time. I know just under €1 million was given to Louth County Council to deliver 36 houses, which is not what we need.

Can the Minister deal with the specifics of a plan post pandemic and the national development plan relationship to delivering a stimulus? Once we have secured people's personal safety, we need to then secure businesses and provide a stimulus to ensure we do not follow the austerity path that led to deprivation for many people.

I want to commend the Minister on the energy has brought to the review of the national development plan, but I wish to raise a number of matters. In the context of the increased budget, what proposals does the Minister have to reform the delivery mechanism for those projects? There is nothing more frustrating than a budget being allocated and the project then not being delivered owing to a lack of capacity.

I know the national planning framework is an aligned document and a different administrative responsibility. I refer to the ministerial responsibility for the public service, the whole notion of accountability within the national planning framework in the various positions and accountability to the public and elected representatives. Does the Government have any thoughts on that?

I refer to the N26 road and the western rail corridor. They are essential capital transport projects that are necessary in a regional context.

I thank the Deputies for raising these issues. The revision of the national development plan will take account of the pandemic, our learnings from it and the impact it is likely to have on the development of Ireland in the years ahead. In addition to reviewing the national development plan, we are also preparing a new national economic recovery plan. The intention would be to publish that document in early summer.

On the question of economic supports, as Deputy Ó Murchú knows we have given a commitment that supports will not end abruptly at the end of June. I would anticipate that in the next short number of weeks we will finalise our intentions with regard to vital schemes such as the employment wage subsidy scheme, the Covid restrictions support scheme and others.

In response to Deputy Calleary's point, I wish to highlight again the reforms that are being introduced to the external assurance to strengthen our capability to deliver. He touched on a vital point, namely, the ability to deliver on the national development plan. It is one of the great challenges we face. Money is not always the real constraint; rather, it is the capacity to deliver. We are determined to make improvements in that area.

Written Answers are published on the Oireachtas website.
The Dáil adjourned at 8.30 p.m. until 10 a.m. on Thursday, 22 April 2021.
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